China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, went up 8.8 percent year on year in May as production demand continued to recover, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Wednesday.

The figure was up 13.6 percent from the level in 2019, bringing the average growth for the past two years to 6.6 percent, NBS data showed.

In the first five months, industrial output gained 17.8 percent year on year, resulting in average two-year growth of 7 percent.

The industrial output is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with an annual business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 3.12 million U.S. dollars).

In a breakdown by ownership, the private sector's output increased 9.1 percent year on year last month, while the output of state-controlled enterprises rose 7.7 percent.

The manufacturing sector's output jumped 9 percent year on year in May and the mining sector saw its output increase 3.2 percent, NBS data showed.

China's high-tech manufacturing sector is gaining steam on the backdrop of the country's innovation-driven strategy, said NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui. Last month, the sector's output expanded 17.5 percent with an average two-year growth of 13.1 percent.

In May, the purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51, remaining in the expansion zone for the 15th consecutive month, previous NBS data showed. Enditem